HeraldNet: Bloomie signs with Royals; 'I was ready for a change'



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Mariners Blog

January 9, 2009

Bloomie signs with Royals; 'I was ready for a change'

Posted at 12:26 pm by By Kirby Arnold

Willie Bloomquist, the popular utility player from Port Orchard who'd been with the Mariners his entire pro career, has signed with the Kansas City Royals with an opportunity to do something different.

He'll go to spring training with a chance to win the Royals' starting job at second base. He'll compete with Alberto Callaspo at second base.

Bloomquist, whose speed, energy and all-out effort on the field helped make him one of the Mariners' most popular players the past six years, signed a two-year contract. A report on mlb.com said the deal was believed to be worth $3 million.

Bloomquist, 31, said he had offers from other teams, but the Royals offered the best opportunity for regular playing time. He said the Mariners made it clear they weren't interested in bringing him back.

"I heard from them about a month or so ago that they were probably going to be going a different way," he said. "I had no problem with it. To be quite frank and honest, I was ready for a change."

Bloomquist was never more than a backup wth the Mariners. He was their opening-day starter at third base in 2004, but that was one of only 55 starts he made that year. Last year, he started 40 games and appeared in 71, and became one of only two major leaguers to play at least one game at six different positions other than pitcher and catcher.

His season -- and Mariners career -- came to a painful end on Aug. 9 when he suffered a hamstring injury while running to first base. It left Bloomquist with a .263 career average for the Mariners with six home runs, 98 RBI and 71 stolen bases in 87 attempts.

He was the Mariners' third-round pick in the 1999 draft and began his pro career that summer with the Everett AquaSox. Bloomquist played at least part of every minor league and major league season for either Everett, Class AAA Tacoma or the Mariners, and that was special for a player with friends and family so close by.

"For almost a third of my life I've been with the same organization," he said. "That's all I've ever known. I'm really, really grateful I got a chance to play at home and have some people close to me who were able to watch me play in the major leagues. Everyone's dream is to play in the big leagues and to get an opportulnity to do it at home is even rmore special.

"More than that, the things I’ll miss are not necessarily playing in Seattle, but I’ll really miss the friendships I developed and the people I met. There are minor league coaches and instructors like Mike Goff and Terry Pollreisz, hitting coaches like Jeff Pentland and Paul Molitor, the trainers with Rick Griffin, even our video guy, Carl Hamilton. Those are the things I'll miss the most.

"But as far as playing, I was ready for a change. This is a breath of fresh air for me and I’m excited."

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